Pressure vessel closure seal



Feb. 3, 1953 F. K. ZERBE PRESSURE VESSEL CLDSURE SEAL Filed Sept. 12, 1949 INVENTOR.

Frederick K.Zerbe BY pb 9 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 3, 1953 2,627,361

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PRESSURE VESSEL CLOSURE SEAL Frederick K. Zerbe, Houston, Tex, assignor to A. 0. Smith Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of New York Application September 12, 1949, Serial No. 115,244

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a vessel closure seal and more particularly to quick opening closures for vessels which may be required to withstand either substantial external or internal pressure in the course of their use.

An object of this invention is to provide a closure that may be quickly opened or closed without the necessity of assembling or disassembling a complicated arrangement of parts.

tral portion of head 2' and theinner end of the screw engages closure plate 5 to force the same inwardly as the screw is tightened by hand wheel l provided on the outer end thereof, thereby accomplishing the sealing of the end of the vessel, as will be described.

A circumferential groove 8 is formed in the periphery of closure plate 5. Lip 9, provided on the inner end of plate 5 by the forming of groove Another object of the invention is to provide 10 8, is spaced from the wall of shell I to expose an eiiective closure that is contained almost the groove to any internal pressures developed in wholly within the dimensional limits of the vessel the vessel by contained fluid. itself thereby eliminating external projections Gasket iii, of suitable sealing material, is conthat interfere with orderly storage of vessels, fined within groove 8 and in engagement with and to give a more streamlined appearance to the tapered portion 4 of the inner wall of shell the closed vessel. l. Gasket la is normally round in cross-sec Another object of the invention is to provide tion.

a sealing member and seat construction whereby A projecting wedge I I depends axially inwardthe member will be additionally compressed into ly of the vessel from closure plate 5 into groove a sealing position by either external or internal 8 for the full circumference of the plate and pressures. engages gasket Hi to distort the same in service The invention consists, generally, of the comthereby providing a seal at points of contact bepression of a sealing or gasket member between tween gasket it and the vessel wall.

a closure plate and the inclined wall of a pres- The spacing of lip 9 from the inner wall of sure vessel by distorting the shape of the sealing shell l causes internal pressures to encourage the member as the result of a projection from the distortion of gasket H] by wedge ll, thereby fursurface of the closure plate adjacent thereto and ther insuring the seal.

by directly exposing the sealing member to any The pressing of gasket In against the inclined pressure within the vessel. A seal is thus created wall it and lip 9 by external pressure, as when at points of contact of the sealing member with there is a partial vacuum within the vessel, efthe vessel wall and the closure plate. fects the seal under alternate pressure condi- The invention is illustrated in the accompanytions. ing drawing in which: The closure illustrated is of a simple construc- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a tion, is easily assembled and disassembled and pressure vessel closure; affords an efiective seal against either external Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view of or internal pressures. the closure of Fig. 1; and Various embodiments of the invention may be Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the vessel closure. employed within the scope of the following Referring to the drawing, the closure is shown claims: as employed with a cylindrical pressure vessel 1. A quick opening closure for a pressure vesformed of shell I closed at its lower end, not sel having an outwardly tapered inner wall near shown, and having a removable head 2 which the end thereof, a closure plate fitting within the closes the upper end of the vessel. end of said vessel and having a periphery ta- Head 2 has peripherally spaced lugs for regpered generally complementary to said vessel wall iStry in annular $101? 3 p d in the i r and spaced therefrom with a circumferential wall of shell I. adjacent the pper end thereof. groove extending in said periphery, a pliable, Fig. 3 shows the head 2 partially rotated in slot ring-shaped sealing member confined in said 3 and approaching a breach locked P tiO groove and exposed to the fluid contained in said The inn r W ll f ll I, pp o in slot vessel between the wall of the vessel and the pc- 3 tapers outwardly a5 a1? riphery of the closure, an annular projection ex- Closure plate 5, which is formed with a petending axially of the vessel from the outermost riphery substantially complementary to tapered wall of the groove toward the interior of the vesportion 4 of the inner wall of shell I, is disposed sel and lying within said groove in engagement inwardly f h ad 2, with said sealing member to press the same Screw 6 is threaded through a thickened centightly against the tapered wall of the vessel upon.

any tendency of the sealing member to move outwardly under internal fluid pressures, and means for holding said closure plate within the end of said vessel.

2. A quick opening closure for a pressure vessel having an outwardly tapered inner wall near the end thereof, a closure plate fitting within the end of said vessel and having a periphery tapered generally complementary to said vessel wall and radially spaced from the vessel wall with an annular groove extending circumferentially in the periphery of said cover, a generally round pliable gasket extending in said groove circumferentially of said closure plate and in engagement with the tapered wall of the vessel with said gasket being exposed to the fluid contained in the vessel through the space provided between the wall of the vessel and the periphery of the closure plate, and an annular projection extending axially of the vessel from the outermost wall of the groove toward the interior of the vessel and lying within said groove in engagement with said gasket to distort the gasket and force the 4 latter against the tapered surface of the vessel wall as pressure from the contained fluid tends to force the gasket axially outwardly of the vessel, and means for holding the closure plate within the end of the vessel.

FREDERICK K. ZERBE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 590,584 McKeone Sept. 28, 1897 1,493,058 Wacker May 6, 1924 1,520,784 Taylor Dec. 30, 1924 1,566,983 Sherifi Dec. 22, 1925 1,683,726 Pierce Sept. 11, 1928 1,846,648 Lobl Feb. 23, 1932 2,209,081 Rocic July 23, 1940 2,375,671 Malluk May 8, 1945 2,401,856 Brock June 11, 1946 

